Ashley Benefield was a ballerina and model who seemed to have found her happily ever after with her new husband, Doug Benefield. Now, she’s at the center of the “Black Swan” case that captivated the media after she fatally shot her estranged husband.
In 2016, 24-year-old Ashley met 54-year-old Doug while she was working in Trump’s campaign office in Sarasota, Florida, an encounter that would change their lives forever. The two hit it off right away despite the age difference, so much so that they tied the knot just 13 days after meeting. However, the honeymoon stage didn’t last, and problems started emerging months after their relationship. The fact that Doug’s daughter from a previous relationship, 15-year-old Eva, wasn’t fond of Ashley didn’t help. Eva’s mother died less than a year before her father remarried and she was still in the grieving process.
The newlyweds founded the company American National Ballet (ANB), aiming to break traditional barriers in the ballet industry by offering opportunities to dancers of diverse heights, weights, and racial backgrounds. Amid all that, the couple had intense fights, with one resulting in Doug firing a gun to the ceiling of their home in Charleston, South Carolina. Then, Ashley became pregnant in Aug. 2017. With their ongoing issues and Ashley’s pregnancy, they decided it was best for her to stay with her mother in Florida while Doug handled their business until the baby was born.
A month later, Ashley decided to break things off with Doug through a letter that mentioned all the reasons she was leaving him. She went back to their Charleston home while Doug wasn’t there, packed her belongings, and left. Ashley claimed her husband was trying to poison her, and didn’t welcome his attempts at reconciliation.
Why did Ashley Benefield kill her husband?
Ashley gave birth to her daughter Emerson in March 2018 and didn’t tell Doug about it. Nor did she put his name on the birth certificate. She filed a restraining order on her husband and wanted sole custody of their child, but the court found no evidence of her claims that Doug had poisoned her. Afterward, it looked like the couple was making an effort at reconciliation. In 2020, Ashley and Doug planned to move together to Maryland.
On Sept. 27, 2020, a 911 call was placed by a neighbor saying that Ashley shot Doug in her mother’s Florida home. The two were packing Ashley’s belongings for their move. She went to the neighbor’s house claiming that she shot Doug in self-defense. Ashley was charged with second-degree murder and she pleaded not guilty.
During the trial, prosecutors argued that Ashley never intended to get back together with Doug and was planning to get sole custody of their daughter. The defense, on the other hand, said that Ashley shot her husband in self-defense after he hit her during an argument. Based on the trajectory of the bullets and blood spatter, Doug wasn’t facing Ashley when he was shot, and he was at least 3 feet away from her.
Ashley was acquitted of second-degree murder, but the jury found her guilty of first-degree manslaughter. The judge sentenced her to 20 years in prison and 10 years probation. After the sentencing, Doug’s daughter Eva said, “I hope prison serves her well.”
Published: Dec 10, 2024 05:43 am